The Judiciary
ICSE Class 8 · History & Civics · Chapter 14
What this chapter covers
- Why India needs a judiciary
- The Supreme Court: composition
- Qualifications and appointment of Supreme Court judges
- The High Courts
- Jurisdiction: original, appellate and revisory
- Judicial review
- Court of Record
- Writs: meaning and examples
Key points
- The judiciary interprets the laws, settles disputes and protects people's rights; it is the third organ of government.
- India has an integrated judiciary: Supreme Court, then High Courts, then subordinate courts.
- The Supreme Court, in New Delhi, has the Chief Justice of India and up to 33 other judges.
- A Supreme Court judge must be a citizen and a High Court judge for 5 years, a High Court advocate for 10 years, or a distinguished jurist.
- Judges are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the collegium of senior judges.
- Supreme Court judges retire at 65 and High Court judges at 62; both can be removed only by a special majority in both Houses of Parliament.
- Each state has a High Court, though some states share one; it supervises all subordinate courts in its area.
- Original jurisdiction: a case begins in that court. Appellate: the court hears appeals. Revisory: a higher court corrects a lower court that went beyond its powers; the Supreme Court can also review its own judgments.
- Judicial review lets the Supreme Court and High Courts strike down laws that go against the Constitution.
- As courts of record, the Supreme Court and High Courts keep their judgments permanently and can punish contempt of court.
- A writ is a written court order; the five writs are habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto.
Questions answered
What are the three main functions of the judiciary?
The judiciary interprets the laws, settles disputes between people, between governments, and between people and the government, and protects the rights of the people.
What is meant by an integrated judiciary?
An integrated judiciary is a single chain of courts for the whole country, with the Supreme Court at the top, the High Courts below it and the subordinate courts below them. Decisions of the Supreme Court bind all other courts.
State the qualifications for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.
The person must be a citizen of India and must have been a High Court judge for at least 5 years, or a High Court advocate for at least 10 years, or be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
How can a judge of the Supreme Court be removed? Why is the process made so difficult?
Each House of Parliament must pass a motion for removal by a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of those present and voting, on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity; then the President orders the removal. The process is difficult so that judges can decide cases freely, without fear of losing their jobs.
Give two differences between the Supreme Court and a High Court.
The Supreme Court covers the whole of India, while a High Court covers one state or a group of states. Supreme Court judges retire at 65, while High Court judges retire at 62. (Other answers: the qualifications differ, and the Supreme Court's writ power is narrower.)
Distinguish between original and appellate jurisdiction, with one example of each for the Supreme Court.
Original jurisdiction is the power to hear a case for the first time; a dispute between two states begins in the Supreme Court. Appellate jurisdiction is the power to hear appeals against lower courts; the Supreme Court hears an appeal against a High Court's sentence of death.
What is judicial review? Give one reason why it is important.
Judicial review is the power of the Supreme Court and the High Courts to declare a law or government order invalid if it goes against the Constitution. It protects the Fundamental Rights of citizens from unfair laws.
Explain the two features of a court of record.
Its judgments and proceedings are preserved permanently and accepted as evidence and precedent; and it has the power to punish for contempt of court.